Seasonal jobs filling fast as summer hiring ramps up
Summer job openings are filling quickly across Estonia, and employers warn teens and students still looking for seasonal work may already be too late.
At Caffeine's Tallinn Old Town location, the busy start to the tourist high season is already indicative of the cafe chain's summer staffing needs.
Across its 12 locations, seasonal demand for labor increases by about one-sixth, though business manager Katrily Purga said the company doesn't even really need to post openings.
"We're a young and friendly company, it's a great place for a first job, so baristas tend to find us on their own," Purga said, adding that Caffeine provides new hires with in-house training.
Despite the pre-summer rush, the company is mainly seeking longer-term employees and young adults.
Pay varies by location and workload, ranging from €6 to €10 an hour. Employees at busier cafes and Caffeine's Tallinn Airport location, which includes overnight shifts, tend to earn more, Purga added.
Meanwhile, Super Skypark is hiring minors for the first time this summer, bringing on a handful of 16- and 17-year-olds at its trampoline and play centers in Tallinn and Pärnu.
Entry-level positions start at about €6 per hour.
Development manager Elyne Aaviksoo said young people generally apply on their own, but admitted communication skills can sometimes be lacking.
Employees spending a lot of time on their phones can make it harder for even their own coworkers to communicate with them, but the need to be present is all the more vital in front-facing work at businesses like their play centers.
"It may sound harsh, but in our positions, you need to be observant and interact with guests, and be able to instruct them," Aaviksoo said.
No unrealistic pay expectations
Interest in youth summer jobs is also surging at the Sõbralt Sõbrale charity thrift store chain, whose seasonal job openings attracted more than 600 applications this year.
Sõbralt Sõbrale commerce chief Maiko Kesküla said the organization plans to hire 30 minors across the country this summer, and often hears from interested applicants as early as January.
Given the chain's goal of providing as many youths as possible with new job experience each year, they typically won't rehire the same applicant through the program twice.
But even teens who are turned down sometimes return as volunteers, he added, as opportunities for young folks to gain work experience in Estonia remain limited.
"Our pay is around the minimum wage level, so we don't see any unrealistic pay expectations from young people," Kesküla said. "They genuinely want to work."
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Editor: Marko Tooming, Aili Vahtla
